Garment-pressing machine.



E. F. FRENCH.

GARMENT PRESSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2. 1912. RENEWED use. 8. 1914.

1,150,355. Patented Au 17, 1915.

FFllGE.

EDWIN F. FRENCH, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

GARMENT-PRESSING- MACHINE.

Application filed April 2, 1912, Serial No. 688,091. Renewed December 8,

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN F. FRENCH, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inGarment-Pressing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to pressing mechanism, and it has specialreference to power mechanism for pressing clothing, and the object is toprovide a means whereby the steam may not only be generated by the sameheating elements which provide the heat for the presser plate, but toprovide a simple and easily constructed plate which will distribute thesteam thoroughly, and in doing so also superheat the steam, and thusafford a means whereby the work of pressing may be done more eflicientlyand expeditiously, as will now be set forth in detail.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1. is a front view of my improvedpresser plate and reservoir. Fig. 2. is an end view of the presser plateand reservoir. Fig. 3. is a top viewof the presser plate, on line 3. ofFig. 1.v Fig. 4. is a vertical cross section of the plate and reservoiron line 4. of Fig. 1. Fig. 5. is a vertical longitudinal section of thepresser plate and reservoir on line 5. of Fig. 2. Fig. 6. is a top Viewof the presser plate, partly in section, and Fig. 7. is an end view ofthe presser plate and reservoir on the frame.

It will be understood that the invention herein illustrated shows onlythe presser plate and thereservoir which in practice is held in astationary position and the bed on which is placed the garments to bepressed, is designed to move up against presser plate. In Fig. 7, I showa machine with the frame 8, which carries the vertically-movable bed 9,and two curved arms 10, extend up and forwardly, to carry the reservoirand presser plate.

The presser plate comprises a fiat plate 11, having a centrallongitudinal groove 12 in its upper side. The groove has centrally ablock 14 inserted therein for stopping it off so as to provide twoindependent channels and in the end of each channel a block 15 isinserted. j

A series of laterally-disposed holes 16 is bored through this plateterminating at the channel, and a series of smaller holes 17 are boredupwardly from the under side of Specification of Letters Patent. I

Patented'Aug. 17, 1915 1914. Serial No. 876,167.

the plate to communicate with the transverse bores 16. The outer ends ofthe transverse holes 16 are closed by plugs 18.

Overlying the presser plate, and secured thereto by bolts or in anysuitable manner is a skeleton frame work comprising a central that whenit is bolted to the presser plate it will be steam tight. On thisskeleton plate I mount a reservoir 22, which is of the same dimensionsas the presser plate, and vertically through the reservoir, near eachend is a tubular shell 23, so that access may be had through thereservoir to attach vertical 'steam pipes 24 to the longitudinal bar 19,the attachment being made at the holes 25.

The steam reservoir or generator may be secured to the skeleton frame inany suitable manner, but I prefer to have the attachment madeby narrowstrips or bands 26, secured by bolts 27 to the edges of the bars 20, 21,the strips having their upper margins eX- tending up and overlapping andsecured to the edges of the generator, so the generator and presserplate may be held in proper relation to each other, and at the same timemay be quickly and easily separated from each other.

The vertical pipes 24. are connected at their upper ends by a horizontalpipe 28, having centrally a cross fitting with a downwardly-projectingnipple 29 extending therefrom and tapped into the top of the reservoir,and an upwardly-projecting nipple 30 which carries at its upper end agage 31. Intermediate each vertical pipe 24, and the cross fitting is avalve 32, each provided with a downwardly and forwardly-projecting valvestem lever 33, the lower ends of these levers being in close proximitywith each other, so that the operator may be able to press both leverssimultaneously with one hand, or either may be actuated. It will be seenthat by this arrangement steam may be admitted to the groove 12 at eachend of the presser plate, so that the steam may be used at each end orat both ends simultaneously.

Above the steam generator, is a water reservoir 34, supported at eachend by a vertical pipe 35, the lower end of each pipe being secured tothe upper wall of the steam reservoir. Near the upper end of each pipeis a T-fitting from which extends a horizontal nipple 36 which goesthrough the head of the reservoir, and the nipple at one end of thereservoir has preferably a downturned nipple connection 37, and at theother nipple is an upwardly-projecting nipple 38.

The vertical pipes 35 have therein valves 39 39, and above the Tconnection are valves 40, 40 so that the reservoir may be supplied withwater by opening and closing the valve 40, and water supplied to thesteam reservoir through valve 39, and when the valve 40 at the end ofthe reservoir having the down turned nipple, 37, is opened, the valve 40on the vertical pipe 35 at the other end of the reservoir is openedthereby permitting air to escape from the reservoir through the upturnednipple 38. On the other hand, as the vertical pipes 35 communicate withthe steam space of the steam reservoir, the valve 40 may be closed andthe valve 39 opened, in which case the steam in the lower reservoir willpass up through the valve 39 and nipple 38 and thereby cause all thewater to be drained out of the water reservoir through thedownwardly-projecting nipple 37.

It will be observed that there are spaces 42 below the steam reservoirformed by the skeleton plate, and in these spaces I place the electricheating coils 43 or other heating elements. It will thus be seen thatthe steam reservoir is the same size as the presser plate and isadjacent the heating element, so that the heating means is the steamproducing means as well as the heating means for the presser plate.

The construction and arrangement of the presser plate and steamreservoir, together with the steam conduits from the reservoir, enableme to superheat the steam, since it must not only pass through thechannels 12 but also through the minute holes formed through the presserplate, thereby making a more efficient presser for garments than ifsaturated steam is used.

What I claim as new, is:

1. In a garment presser, a presser plate having a. longitudinal steamchannel therein provided with holes to distribute steam to variouspoints throughout the presser plate, a skeleton frame on the presserplate, a s1 cam generator on the skeleton frame and in contacttherewith, an electric heating element within recesses alongside thesteam channel, whereby the heating element will generate steam in thegenerator, superheat the steam as it passes from the generator to thedischarge holes, and heat the presser plate.

2. In a garment presser, a plate having longitudinal grooves therein,and provided with a series of transverse holes extending from the edgesof the plate to the longitudinal grooves and plugged at their outerends, and having a plurality of holes through the bottom of the platecommunicating with the transverse holes, a skeleton frame on said plate,a steam generator on said skeleton plate, electric heating means betweenthe steam generator and presser plate, and steam communicating meansbetween the generator and plate.

Signed at the city of Los Angeles, county of Los Angeles, State ofCalifornia, this 2d day of March, 1912, in' the presence of witnesses.

EDWIN F. FRENCH.

Witnesses J. F. Zonnn, EDMUND KASOLD.

